Buy Experiences

Last week’s episode really got me thinking about how much we as human beings consume and unfortunately waste. The problem is real. I mean, there’s a whole theory about it which pushes the idea that we should buy more because it’s good for us:

“Consumerism is an economic theory which states that a progressively greater level of consumption is beneficial to the consumers. Since the 1800s and the Industrial Revolution the world has been consuming at a higher rate than ever.”

Think about it for a minute… how much stuff do you have that you don’t even use? How many things have you purchased just because you had to have the latest and the greatest gadget?

As a society, we are taught to consume and that it’s important to keep up with the Joneses. You see it everywhere. On TV, Social Media and in the mall. The ads scream out to us; buy…BUY….BUY! And we convince ourselves that we work hard so we deserve it. We convince ourselves that buying stuff will make us happy.

But the reality is…. It’s not making you happy. In fact it might actually be making you unhappy.

How many people do you know:

Lease cars so they always have the newest

Buy the latest iPhone even though theirs still works just fine

Buy new clothes because what they already have is so last season

Don’t have the cash? It’s ok… just put it on credit.

Maybe this is your friend, your coworker, a family member or even you! We buy, then we buy more. But to buy more we must work more. We put things on credit, go in to debt, so we work even more. We don’t spend time with our friends, or our loved ones. Our relationships suffer. We stop having time to take care of ourselves, our health suffers. We spend more on medical bills so we work more. We can’t retire now because we haven’t saved but we have a lot of things or at least did at one point. Is this living life? Stop the madness!

Now if you think about it for just a minute… how happy do all those things actually make you? How long does that feeling last?

Perhaps you feel it is worth it and that’s great. Now; what if you instead used that money to purchase an amazing experience or an adventure; one that would create memories for you and your family forever. Or what if you instead took that money and invested it so that you could work toward your own financial freedom or an early retirement?

What this all boils down to is that our choices matter.

Our choices can make a difference in the quality of our lives and our futures…for better…or for worse. By turning off the consumerism chatter in your mind you can actually become a happier person. Just think about it.

So, if you are interested in freeing yourself from clutter and living a more fulfilling, financially independent life then make this promise with me to do your best every day to:

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